#205 James Dyson (Invention: A Life)

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets, they're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high, so I will have at least four shots of espresso, or four energy drinks, before or during the show, so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today, and I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. In many ways, I have come to live what might seem to be a contradictory life. Part in the future, part in the past.
Most of my waking time is spent in our labs, surrounded by Dyson's engineers and scientists, exploring ideas that we hope might shape the future.
Ours is a life of challenge and frustration, all of which is a fulfilling pastime. But I also have an interest verging on obsession with the past.
With the stories, artifacts, and spaces that have shaped our world.
Repairing the old and adding to the new has become as much an important part of my life as inventing for the future.
Renovation might sound an odd enthusiasm for a modern designer and engineer, yet there is much to learn from the past and from those who have shaped the world before us.
It is about understanding and celebrating the progress that has been achieved, learning from it, and building on it.
Let me give you an example. The Whittle jet engine, which we have lovingly restored to its original specification and which we fire up from time to time in the parking lot at the Dyson headquarters, is another example of restoration of the past.
Though it needed love when we took it on, the Whittle engine is not some old world object. It's the embodiment of Frank Whittle's revolutionary concept, a way of solving the problem of how aircraft could fly at much greater height, speed, and smoothness than they could possibly do in 1930 The idea that he formulated at the age of 23 to form a new aero engine was as extraordinary as it was fragile.
And who wanted to believe Whittle was right? Certainly not government experts. He had to pursue his project alone. Yet in doing so, he revolutionized flight for everyone and changed the course of the Second World War.
While the Whittle engine is perhaps my biggest inspiration, there are great many similar designs and engineering icons scattered around our campuses, each with its own story.
There is the English electric lightning jet that's hanging in one of our campus cafes. The Concorde engine in one of our office spaces.
The dissected mini parked in another. And a Harrier jump jet in the parking lot.
One of these, the mini, which I can't help coming back to, is a good example of why you should not listen to market research.
The British Motor Corporation, BMC, cancelled one of the two proposed mini production lines as a result of the feedback from market research. The corporation was told that people would refuse to buy a car with such small wheels.
In the event, the BMC was never able to catch up with the demand that followed the launch of the trendsetting mini. There are many more examples I won't name here, yet each such artifact has its own story of against the odds progress and lessons on why having faith in your ideas and believing in progress is so important. What these pieces of our history demonstrate is that it is hard for other people to understand or get excited by a new idea.
This requires self-reliance and faith on the part of the inventor.
I can also see that it is hard for an outsider to understand the challenge and thrill of inventing new technology, designing and manufacturing the product, and then selling it to the world. Being an entrepreneur is not necessarily about making a fast buck. It's about creating new products and new opportunities, generating rewarding employment and opportunities in the process. The entrepreneur is part of a cycle of renewal, driving progress.